Much as the Chief Minister may try to mislead by calling it an accident, this was murder with intent. It was murder most foul, say former bureaucrats

Wednesday December 19, 2018 0:25 AM, ummid.com News Network

Mumbai: More than 80 former bureaucrats on Tuesday hit out at Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and unabated attacks on Muslims and Dalits. Citing the murder of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh in Bulandshahr they said it was an attempt to display majoritarian muscle and send a message to the Muslims of the area.

"While it may be premature to come to conclusions about the murder of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh before the investigations are over, there is no doubt that there was nothing spontaneous about the violence that led to his killing, nor is there any doubt as to who the political elements were that aided and abetted the violence", they said.

"This was a deliberate attempt to display majoritarian muscle and send a message to the Muslim communities living in the region that they have to live in fear, accept their subordinate status and conform to the cultural diktats of the majority community", the former bureaucrats of IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS and other top ranks said in an open letter.

Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, who was posted at the Syana Police Station, died in the violence that broke out in Bulandshahr on December 03 over alleged illegal slaughter of cattle. Chief Minister Yogi Aidtyanath called the cop's murder an accident which is vehemently refuted by the former bureaucrats.

"Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh’s reputation of being independent and even-handed and his refusal to act in haste on the complaint of illegal cow slaughter that allegedly took place under his watch, was obviously seen as defiance of the majoritarian will. The local BJP and Sangh Parivar elements had already complained about his anti-Hindu conduct and sought his transfer. He was an impediment to their communal plans and had to go. Much as the Chief Minister may try to mislead by calling it an accident, this was murder with intent. It was murder most foul", they said.

"As horrifying as the brazen, daylight murder of a courageous police officer is the response of the administration to the event. The Chief Minister refuses to acknowledge the gravity of the incident and its communal intent, condemn the perpetrators of violence or direct the police to take action against them but instead asks them to focus attention on those responsible for illegal cow slaughter", they said.

"The police authorities themselves draw an equivalence between the killing of a police officer and the illegal slaughter of cows and claim that unless both crimes are investigated together it will not be possible to come to any conclusions about the violence of the mob and the murder of a colleague", they added.

The former bureaucrats also demanded resignation of Yogi Adityanath and requested the Allahabad High Court to take suo motu cognizance of the incident and order a judicial enquiry supervised by them to uncover the true facts, expose the political collusion, fix responsibility and recommend action.